Women in sparkling gowns and men in three piece suits do the telethon's heavy lifting, in the "phone room." There, the hosts solicite donations for the hospital before cameras from home viewers.

The Memphis, Tenn. based hospital treats children with catastrophic illnesses, such as cancers and sickle cell disease, many "treatment protocols require care that can last for years." The hospital pays for all of children's healthcare that isn't covered by insurance. Operating the hospital costs $1.8 million daily.

Over the life of the telethon, more than $1.5 million has been raised for the hospital. Kristin Raymond, event organizer for the past seven years and daughter of event creator Tim Driscoll, says the event has raised about $60,000 annually since the economic downturn. An event record was set at about $70,000.

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"We organize it, but really, it's up to the people to make it as successful as it is," said Raymond. "It's everyone's telethon," she said, before the Little Theater stage, dressed in a scarlet and sequined ball gown.

When the telethon creator's son, Tim Driscoll Jr., was asked why he thought his father felt compelled to help children, he said, "I don't know what was instilled. It just seems inherent." In Raymond's telling, before the telethon was started her father wrote to two children's hospitals asking if he could help. St. Jude's replied.

Although Driscoll Jr. grew up with the telethon, he said the magnitude of the fundraiser "really didn't hit me until my first hospital visit," at 27 years old. He's now 34.

"Then it really hit me, and it's a big thing our community should be proud of," Driscoll Jr. said, before ascending the stairs to ask home viewers of the telethon to "dig deep."

"We want to make sure we keep these operators as busy as possible," Driscoll Jr. said to the audience, before repeating the phone number, "860..."

The high school's cafeteria smelled of popcorn and was packed with baskets of prizes. In the Little Theater, where the Driscoll's spoke, more than 18 acts were scheduled to perform. Audience members of all ages, from the elderly to toddlers, moved freely between the theater and the cafeteria. The Driscoll's aren't the only ones who make the telethon a family affair.

Assembling a princess themed jigsaw puzzle in the cafeteria, Steve Dew sat with his two granddaughters, ages 1 and 4. Their mother and Dew's daughter, Becky Hayes, worked in the phone room on camera, soliciting donations for the hospital.

Formerly Becky Dew, as a baby Hayes was given months to live after being diagnosed with a rare form of liver cancer, known as hepatoblastema.

She began receiving treatment at Farmington's UConn Medical Center, before traveling to St. Jude Children's Hospital for treatment. As a result of the treatment at St. Jude's, Hayes is alive today.

Steve Dew said it was good for his granddaughters to be there, "because [of] volunteerism, and it's a good cause."

The reason the event is special to Litchfield County, Dew said, "More than anything, the guy who [organized] it, Tim Driscoll, without him, it wouldn't be."

Others at the telethon to volunteer their time or title, such as Miss Naugatuck Valley, Nicole Morin, said "This kind of stuff doesn't happen every day, but when it does, people are interested, and they do come out."